Kesan, Wahlstrom and Adams Top Rice Lake Speedway Winners List

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, July 31 – While Jimmy Mars won the Swant Graber 40 Late Model Structural Buildings Challenge Series event Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway (see separate story), there was also racing in three other divisions at the track. Mitch Kesan won his first ever feature race at the track as he topped the Pure Stock main event while Simon Wahlstrom and Kevin Adams added to their win totals as feature win leaders in the Midwest Modifieds and Modifieds respectively.

A nineteen car field would take the green flag for the Pure Stock feature, a race that was stopped only twice for minor spins in the early going. “Biker” Bob Thompson has parked his El Camino Pure Stock and went back to his old car and the change was good as he led the opening eight laps of the main event. He did not have much breathing room however, as he was challenged hard by Bob Wahlstrom, Bryar Zimmerman and Nicholas Hazelton in the early going.

After lap two and lap three yellows for spins, the rest of the race went non stop as Thompson continued to fight off challengers. Zimmerman was joined by Ryan Olson and Mitch Kesan, who had started ninth in the pack but was on the move early.

Zimmerman would work up beside Thompson and they would run side by side for the lead in a pleasing Pure Stock battle. Meanwhile, right behind them, Olson and Kesan would also be racing side by side as the top four drivers were putting on a show.

Finally, on lap nine, Zimmerman would edge past Thompson on the high side as he sought his first ever feature win but then he was challenged by Kesan who was able to get past Olson and then Thompson to battle for the lead. They too, raced side by side for the lead as both sought their first ever wins at this track with Kesan finally edging into the lead with just four laps to go.

However, Zimmerman stayed right with him and it was not until the final corner of the race that Kesan could clear Zimmerman enough to claim victory. In only his second race at the track in the Pure Stocks, Kesan would claim the win over Zimmerman with Olson, Thompson and Wahlstrom rounding out the top five. Kesan would also become the seventh different winner in the Pure Stock class so far this year.

Simon Wahlstrom would lead from start to finish to win the Midwest Modified feature. He would start on the outside pole and get the early jump on Zach Slayton to lead on the opening lap. Close behind him, battling hard for position were Mike Schnider, Travis Anderson, Austin Ellis and Kennedy Swan.

The lone yellow, for a spin on lap four, bunched the field but on the green, Wahlstrom would again get a good jump and pull back into the lead as Schnider slipped into second. The top two would pull away from the field while the battle for third was a tight one as Ellis and Swan fought hard while Kenny Kincaid started to move in on both of them.

Wahlstrom was just sailing on out front and with no real challengers as he made it look easy as he drove home for the win and claimed his fourth feature win at the track so far this season. Schnider would have his best run so far as he would finish a strong second with Ellis, Swan and Kincaid trailing.

The Modified field would be one of the stronger ones of the year so far and it got off to a shocking start when point leader Mike Anderson would spin on the opening lap, sending him to the tail of the field for the restart. Denny Cutsforth would then take the lead and he would maintain the top spot for the first six laps of this race. Shane Halopka pressured him for the lead but Cutsforth would maintain the top spot.

Meanwhile, back in the pack there was plenty of excitement as Kevin Adams and Darrell Nelson were both on a mission getting to the front as they started in the fourth row, side by side. They were both making some exciting moves as they tore to the front with Adams up to third by lap six and Nelson two spots behind him. The race was stopped at this point for the second and last time when Dan Bargender and Adam Hensel, battling for fourth, would drive into turn four very hard with Hensel going around and triggering the yellow.

On the restart, Adams would get past Halopka for second and one lap later blow past Cutsforth down the front chute to take over the lead. He would then pull away as Nelson continued his march to the front too, eventually getting to second and setting out after Adams.

As the laps ran down, Nelson would gradually cut down the deficit between himself and Adams and Adams would report after the race that his motor was getting “tight” and he was trying to nurse it home.

At the finish, Nelson would close to about four car lengths but Adams would ease across the line with his fifth win of the year at Rice Lake. Cutsforth would have a great run as he finished up third and Dan Bargender would finish a strong fourth ahead of Halopka. Big advances were made by Hot Karl who started seventeenth and finished sixth and Hensel who went to the back after his spin and finished up just behind Hot Karl.

Trophies were presented to all four feature winners by Steve Parsons representing the Kim Parsons Memorial Trophy Tour promoting organ and tissue donation and sponsored by Moberg Electric and Kisling's Auto Body.

The speedway will now prepard for its biggest race of the entire season, the twenty seventh annual Street Stock “Little Dream” race to be held this coming Tuesday, August 3rd with a Wednesday night rain date. This unique race, unmatched across the country, sees fans and businesses contribute to the purse in interesting and inovative ways and helps every year to build up a record total. Last year Barron driver Nick Traynor went home with $26,000 for his win, a record for the event and race organizers have been working nonstop to try and top last year's record.

Sixty or more Street Stocks from a five state area are poised to desend on the speedway on Tuesday night with the best talent across the upper Midwest expected to be on hand. Race time is 7 pm on Tuesday night with S & R Towing the presenting sponsor.

Check the speedway face book for special event pricing and other late breaking information on this event and the rest of the season's racing action.

17 entries

WISSOTA LATE MODEL

Structural Buildings A Feature 1 (40 Laps): 1. 28-Jimmy Mars[4]; 2. 19-Steve Laursen[2]; 3. 71-Rick Hanestad[6]; 4. 27-Jake Redetzke[3]; 5. 28S-Sam Mars[1]; 6. 85-John Kaanta[5]; 7. 44-Darrell Nelson[9]; 8. 68-Mike Prochnow[8]; 9. 54-Rick Niemi[11]; 10. 6M-Jeffrey Massingill[7]; 11. 92-Aaron Wilson[14]; 12. 21XC-Joel Collins[10]; 13. 87-Curt Kranz[16]; 14. 44X-Jarrett Loe[17]; 15. 22-Sam Motzer[12]; 16. (DNF) 51-Randy Gullixson[15]; 17. (DNF) 71JR-Buddy Hanestad[13]

Joe Provo Racewear Heat 1 (12 Laps): 1. 85-John Kaanta[1]; 2. 28-Jimmy Mars[5]; 3. 27-Jake Redetzke[3]; 4. 71-Rick Hanestad[6]; 5. 44-Darrell Nelson[8]; 6. 22-Sam Motzer[4]; 7. 54-Rick Niemi[9]; 8. 51-Randy Gullixson[2]; 9. 44X-Jarrett Loe[7]

Dirt Track Supply Heat 2 (12 Laps): 1. 68-Mike Prochnow[2]; 2. 28S-Sam Mars[3]; 3. 6M-Jeffrey Massingill[4]; 4. 19-Steve Laursen[7]; 5. 21XC-Joel Collins[1]; 6. 71JR-Buddy Hanestad[5]; 7. 92-Aaron Wilson[8]; 8. 87-Curt Kranz[6]

17 entries

WISSOTA MODIFIEDS

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 40-Kevin Adams[8]; 2. 44N-Darrell Nelson[7]; 3. 20-Denny Cutsforth[1]; 4. 10B-Daniel Bargender[4]; 5. 3JR-Shane Halopka[2]; 6. WIN1-Jon Frolik[17]; 7. 44-Adam Hensel[5]; 8. 78R-Ross Prochnow[12]; 9. 11-Sam Fankhauser[11]; 10. 18W-Wayne Poteet[15]; 11. 57-Mike Anderson[6]; 12. 10-Kyle Helling[10]; 13. 204-David Mayala[14]; 14. 33-Cooper Berlin[13]; 15. (DNF) 1H-Paul Harelstad[16]; 16. (DNF) 308-Pat Hoffman[3]; 17. (DNF) 27H-Steve Hallquist[9]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 10B-Daniel Bargender[1]; 2. 308-Pat Hoffman[4]; 3. 44N-Darrell Nelson[8]; 4. 40-Kevin Adams[9]; 5. 27H-Steve Hallquist[3]; 6. 11-Sam Fankhauser[6]; 7. 33-Cooper Berlin[2]; 8. (DNF) 1H-Paul Harelstad[5]; 9. (DNF) WIN1-Jon Frolik[7]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 57-Mike Anderson[2]; 2. 44-Adam Hensel[5]; 3. 20-Denny Cutsforth[3]; 4. 3JR-Shane Halopka[6]; 5. 10-Kyle Helling[1]; 6. 78R-Ross Prochnow[4]; 7. 204-David Mayala[7]; 8. 18W-Wayne Poteet[8]

12 entries

WISSOTA MIDWEST MODS

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[2]; 2. 40-Mike Schnider[4]; 3. 20-Austin Ellis[6]; 4. 18S-Kennedy Swan[8]; 5. 4-Kenny Kincaid[7]; 6. 37-Travis Anderson[5]; 7. 46-Zach Slayton[1]; 8. 13-Derrick Reed[10]; 9. 93-CJ Wagner[9]; 10. 2-Tanner Gehl[12]; 11. 28-Francis Hanson[3]; 12. 19H-Kevin Herrman[11]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 40-Mike Schnider[2]; 2. 18S-Kennedy Swan[4]; 3. 37-Travis Anderson[5]; 4. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[3]; 5. 93-CJ Wagner[1]; 6. 19H-Kevin Herrman[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Kenny Kincaid[2]; 2. 20-Austin Ellis[4]; 3. 46-Zach Slayton[1]; 4. 28-Francis Hanson[3]; 5. 13-Derrick Reed[6]; 6. 2-Tanner Gehl[5]

22 entries

WISSOTA PURE STOCK

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. AK-Mitchell Kesan[9]; 2. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[6]; 3. 1-Ryan Olson[8]; 4. 70-Bob Thompson[2]; 5. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[3]; 6. 23R-James Rahn[19]; 7. 2B-Nicholas Hazelton[4]; 8. 31T-Tom Treviranus[7]; 9. 57-Randy Graham[5]; 10. 2S-Tristan Scheuermann[10]; 11. 95F-Devin Fries[14]; 12. 72-Cully Butterfield[1]; 13. 101-Michael Grover[16]; 14. 18M-Dusten Holub[22]; 15. 52-Zachary Folz[13]; 16. (DNF) 23-Skylar Findley[17]; 17. (DNF) 4K-Terry Kemp[15]; 18. (DNF) 31-Travis Hazelton[12]; 19. (DNF) 52F-Austin Fencl[20]; 20. (DNS) 08-Kyle Kotek; 21. (DNS) 17G-Chris Gross; 22. (DNS) 91-Michael Holmstrom

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2B-Nicholas Hazelton[8]; 2. 31T-Tom Treviranus[1]; 3. 72-Cully Butterfield[5]; 4. 2S-Tristan Scheuermann[6]; 5. 52-Zachary Folz[7]; 6. 4K-Terry Kemp[4]; 7. 23-Skylar Findley[2]; 8. (DNF) 18M-Dusten Holub[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[1]; 2. 57-Randy Graham[4]; 3. 70-Bob Thompson[7]; 4. 08-Kyle Kotek[6]; 5. (DNF) 23R-James Rahn[3]; 6. (DNF) 52F-Austin Fencl[5]; 7. (DNF) 91-Michael Holmstrom[2]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Ryan Olson[2]; 2. AK-Mitchell Kesan[5]; 3. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[1]; 4. 31-Travis Hazelton[3]; 5. 95F-Devin Fries[6]; 6. 101-Michael Grover[7]; 7. 17G-Chris Gross[4]